Nashville Predators Rumors: Young Defenceman Likely On The Move

Since it is unlikely the Nashville Predators are going to be buyers at the deadline, David Poile revealed that it is more likely they will stand pat or even becomes sellers. They don't have a ton to sell since most of their players are either under contract past this season or are restricted free agents.

Elliotte Friedman gave more insight to this as he thinks the Predators will move a defenceman and doesn't think it will be Mattias Ekholm or Alexandre Carrier. Who he thinks it will most likely be is Dante Fabbre or something else. That something else could really only be Ryan McDonagh if we are talking defencemen.

It has been in the rumour mill for a while that the Predators are leaning towards making a choice between Fabbro and Carrier, especially after the team's poor start to the season and both of their declines from last season. Fabbro has had the more noticeable decline as he has dropped in production significantly all over the ice. He was a top pairing defenceman for some of last season with Roman Josi, but his ice time has gone from just over 19 minutes per game to just over 16 minutes per game. He is playing on the third pairing, has a cap hit of $2.4 million, and is a RFA at the end of the season.

The Predators moving McDonagh already is a bit of a longer shot since it will be difficult or impossible for that to happen. McDonagh has a full no-trade clause until halfway through the final year of his contract in 2026. If he doesn't accept a trade, he isn't going anywhere unless he is bought out, and that will do much more harm than good. Even if Nashville is still in the playoff race, look for Fabbro to be on the move.